No School, What Do We Do?

With all that is happening in our world today, it can be scary.  However, I am looking on the positive side and know that closing schools is doing our part to flatten the curve and help keep the health care system able to work within capacity.  As a parent and a teacher, I worry, what can we have all of these students working on to, at minimum sustain their learning, and ultimately help them progress their learning during these days off?  

I am hoping to share some things that I have compiled {and for which I take no credit in creating} that are helping me to plan for the days ahead. 
Hopefully they will help you plan for the days ahead, too!

First off, this amazing Daily Schedule from Jessica McHale Photography is fantastic!!  I have modified mine slightly to better benefit my middle school aged children, but as you'll see, I have taken her basic template to work with!

I have pulled out my daughter's 7th grade "Big Ideas Math" workbook and our Summer Bridge Activities workbooks from last summer for a portion of the "Academic Time."  Keeping in mind that if these school closures continue long term, the schools will be sending work home for them to complete during these times as well.  

I'll be stopping by the Dollar Tree to pick up some Sudoku books {think math} for the kids as well as some word search and crossword puzzle books {think reading and vocabulary}.  

I just ordered a new game from Amazon - Pairzi - to add to our "Board Game" time on the schedule!  Our family loves the Tenzi family of games and this looked like another perfect addition to pass the time.  Some of our other favorites are Uno and Uno Flip.

Now to change gears and look at resources for elementary aged children.  At this point, I do not know what "e-learning" will look like for my first grade students.  However, I know that parents will be looking for things to do with their children this week and likely next week as well, with cancelled spring break plans.  As noted previously, I have not created any of these activities, but hope to provide you with some links to great resources created by fellow educators across the country!  If you have found something I've not shared, please share in the comments!!

Teachers Pay Teachers is an exceptional resource and many educators are offering e-learning opportunities and activities for free during this COVID-19 pandemic.  

KINDERGARTEN

Kindergarten TPT Free Resources

Kindergarten Free ELA & Math Resources by 2nd Story Window

K & 1st I Can Point and Read Passages by Miss DeCarbo

FIRST GRADE

1st Grade TPT Free Resources

1st Grade Free ELA & Math Resources by 2nd Story Window

1st - 3rd grade 10 Days of Home Learning by Teaching in the Tongass

K & 1st I Can Point and Read Passages by Miss DeCarbo

1st - 3rd Grade Writing Choice Boards by Chalk One Up for the Teacher

SECOND GRADE

2nd Grade TPT Free Resources

2nd Grade Free ELA & Math Resources by 2nd Story Window

2nd - 4th grade At Home Learning Menus by Not So Wimpy Teacher

1st - 3rd grade 10 Days of Home Learning by Teaching in the Tongass

1st - 3rd Grade Writing Choice Boards by Chalk One Up for the Teacher

THIRD GRADE

3rd Grade TPT Free Resources

2nd - 4th grade At Home Learning Menus by Not So Wimpy Teacher

1st - 3rd grade 10 Days of Home Learning by Teaching in the Tongass

1st - 3rd Grade Writing Choice Boards by Chalk One Up for the Teacher

FOURTH GRADE

4th Grade TPT Free Resources

2nd - 4th grade At Home Learning Menus by Not So Wimpy Teacher

FIFTH GRADE

5th Grade TPT Free Resources

Talk to your child's teacher to see if they can get this set up!!

Target: Bullseye's Playground Finds

Raise your hand if you love Target!!

I DO!!

I particularly love the "Dollar Spot" which is more commonly referred to as "Bullseye's Playground" because let's be real, there's not much that's just a dollar anymore!

However, I found some great finds over the past week!  {Never mind that I may have stopped at Chaska, Waconia, Chanhassen, and Edina to find everything I wanted!}

I teach first grade (and will be teaching Kindergarten the following year as part of a K-1 loop) and one thing our students struggle with is remembering their lunch numbers the first few weeks of school.  Each year we are asked to put name tags on the students with their lunch numbers.  I found these simple lanyards that come 10 to a pack that would work perfectly for this!  I also decided to purchase them in three colors:  red, green, and yellow; in case I want to use the name tags to divide students into groups for any activities - field trips, special events, etc.

A teacher can NEVER have too many sleeve protectors!  I use these with students in small groups for activities like "Roll and Read" from Sparkling in Second Grade on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I also use these to provide directions for parent volunteers, reading passages at my small group table, and numerous other activities when I don't want to laminate everything!

These name tags and adhesive pockets are perfect for our desks and the price of $1.00 is fantastic!!

I purchased LOTS (well, 7 sets) of these index card holders!  Each set was $3.00.  I am using four sets - so 12 containers - to make "game kits!"  Each kit will contain 40 of each of two styles of erasers (see below), two game pieces, and one die.  Now, whenever we do a "game" activity like Roll & Read, I just pass out one "kit" to each pair of students to play the game and they have everything they need to be successful!  In the event there's a game with four players, I can pass out two of the "kits."

These erasers are amazing!  I had so much fun using them to put together my "game kits!"  I particularly love the variety of unicorns, rainbows, llamas, pizza, ice cream, gumballs, tacos, and the Earth because they can be used year round.  In the winter, I have a few sets of snowflakes and snowmen to mix things up!

While I am super excited about everything that I have purchased, I am really excited about these fun finger puppets!  After my initial purchase of "The Ugly Duckling" and "Little Red Riding Hood," I also found a set of "The Tortoise and the Hare."  I will store each of these sets in the index card holders, pictured above.  These will be great for story retelling as a Daily 5 station.  

I plan to use these ABC Word Building *magnetic* boards in small groups to first introduce how to use them properly.  Once I feel that students understand how to build words, I will use these as a center in Daily 5.  As students become more proficient in building words, I can increase the academic rigor by having them use the words they built to write sentences.  This also provides me an opportunity to check their work and ensure they are on task, spelling words correctly, and working on an appropriately challenging task.

This magnetic board can be used to build sentences.  I envision using this as an option for Daily 5, Word Work or Work on Writing.  Students can also copy their sentences down into their notebook for writing practice and reinforcement of learning.

The final thing I purchased at Target were these fun Activity Dice!  I hope to introduce them to the whole class first.  Once the whole group understands how we use these properly, I want to add them to my calming corner as an option for students when they need to return to the Green Zone to be ready to learn.  

What are some of your favorite finds as you are preparing to return to the classroom this fall?

POP for Blends & POP for Word Families

Did you like the game I shared yesterday?  If so, I've got two more games you'll enjoy adding to your classroom - POP for Blends and POP for Word Families!  

Students love these games just as much, they just require a bit more knowledge for them to be successful!  I usually introduce these after we can successfully play POP for Sight Words 1.  Each box contains a spinner and on your turn, you must spin to see how many words you must come up with using the blend or word family you have drawn from the box!  I aim to have students share unique words that other students have not already shared.  Another twist I like to add to the game is to have students use white boards and write down the words they create from the blends or word families!

Be sure to shop my Amazon affiliate link if you're interested in adding these games to your classroom collection - POP for Blends and POP for Word Families! 

POP for Sight Words Bundle

I wanted to share a quick post about one of my all-time favorite game to play with kids - POP for Sight Words!  I have used these games to work with students in my classrooms in grades 1, 2, and 3.  I have used these games to break up the boredom during tutoring sessions with students in grades K-5.  I have used these games with my own children to reinforce their knowledge of sight words in early grades!  Kids *love* to play games and don't even realize they are actively working on their reading and building academic knowledge!  Another reason I love these games is that you can use them with small groups of students, one-on-one, and whole group.  Each year I play this a couple times whole group to teach the students my expectations of the game.  We model how to play correctly, what not to do, and how to play correctly again.  The recommended number of players is 2-4, but I truly believe if you keep it moving, you can successfully play with a larger group!  This whole-group modeling lays the foundation for students to use this as an activity for Word Work when doing Daily 5.  

Do you want to purchase your own set of these fabulous games?  Use my affiliate link to purchase this POP for Sight Words Bundle from Amazon!

What other games do you enjoy using in your classroom or home?  Keep checking back and I will share other fun learning games that you might want to add to your collection!

ISO: Scholastic Book Sponsors

Reading is a passion of mine and as a teacher I strive to pass that on to every student. The greatest part of my job is seeing first graders grow as readers and become excited when they do it independently!

🌟   My goal this year is to give every student a book for every month we are in school so they have something fresh, relevant, and at their level every month to take home.

✨I need your help!! I’m looking for 11 people to donate $30 which will sponsor my class for 1 month!

Comment if you’re interested in sponsoring my class for one month so that every student can have a brand new book at home!

💥Every sponsor will receive a certificate of sponsorship, a signed thank you from the class, and a copy of the book purchased to pass along to a child in your life!

Right now I have August, September, October, and November covered - who else wants to help me out?!  😊

Dollar Tree Finds

I am so excited, I can hardly stand it!!  Yesterday, I attended a training for Sonday Essentials {explicit whole group phonics instruction} and walked away with some fun ideas for instruction!  I stopped by a local Dollar Tree today and found exactly what I was looking for - and more!

The instructor used these cute little white board paddles to show student work.  They were simple, students could hold them with one hand, and hold them up to show me their work when they were finished.  Looking at the "big-box teacher store" I found these were $50 for a set of 10.  There was no way I could spend that much money to get these cuties for my class this fall.  ...Enter...Dollar Tree... $1.00 EACH!!  I'm in love!!  I bought all 30 that they had in stock!

Teaching Tree Dry-Erase Paddle Boards

We discussed how students learn through a variety of means - auditory, visual, and kinesthetic.  I wanted to make a fun little sand writing tray that students could use to practice writing letters and short words.  Guess what?!  Dollar Tree!!  

The container on the left used 2 bags of sand. 
The container on the right only used 1 bag of sand.

My final purchase was merely because I saw something...light bulb went off...and I knew I had an idea for a calming activity.  I purchased a set of Teacher Tree Foam Counting Clocks, containers for storage, and 2 Kid's Jumbo Tweezers.  I put them together in little sets and will add them to my calming corner.  Students can use the tweezers to pick up the cubes, calming their body and working on fine motor skills at the same time.

What fun things have you purchased for your classroom lately?

Please share what and where you made your purchase!

Back-to-School Activities: Day 1

Mrs. Hempel:  Carver Elementary 
1st-2nd Grade
2018-2019

Wow!!  Today was my first day back with students and it was *amazing!*  I teach first and second grade in a multi-age classroom.  However, this year we had some assessment days built into the start of the year for our Kindergarten and first grade students in the district.  This meant that I was able to spend today with my 19 adorable second graders and really take some time to foster a community of team-building and leadership!  I can already tell, it's going to be an amazing year!

Today went by so quickly!

I know I'll forget some of the things we did today, but I will try to share with you all of the amazing activities we did!  I most definitely can't take credit for thinking up any of these fun activities, so I will do my best to give credit where credit is due!  And in the event I am unsure of where the activity originated from, just know I'm sharing something fun - but I did not create it!!

Figure Me Out

I honestly cannot recall where I found this adorable idea!  I was doing what I often do, scrolling through Instagram and taking screenshots of the hundreds of cute ideas I find and think, "I'll do this with my class!"  Sometimes I follow through on those thoughts, and other times the images just pile up in my photo gallery on my phone!  I had fun creating the poster and the students had fun figuring out the answers, which led to more "getting to know you" conversations in our classroom!  

When we were finished learning about me, students were each given a post-it note and asked to create one question about themselves that could be answered with a mathematical equation!  I was so impressed by the creativity of my students!  We gathered in a circle, introduced ourselves and shared our questions and equations.  Students learned the names of the classmates and some fun facts, all while practicing a little math!

Please pardon my example - I was attempting to show the students how to
complete their glyph without putting *too* much detail into my own!!  

Name Glyph

This fantastic little {FREE} activity came from A Classroom for All Seasons on Teachers Pay Teachers.  While I did get started on this activity with my second grade students, I found it was a bit difficult for many of them.  I had hoped it would be a great activity for following directions, but it was a little too confusing for some students.  If I were to do this with second grade students again, I would do the activity whole group and go step-by-step through each question and have them follow the directions.  I do think this activity would be fun and more successful in an intermediate grade!

Saving Sam STEM Challenge

This fantastic little {FREE} activity came from Sailing Into Second on Teachers Pay Teachers.  This was an excellent activity for team-building, collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.  Students begin with a gummy lifesaver, lid, gummy worm, and 4 paperclips for their group.  The teacher reads aloud a story about Sam, the worm, who went out sailing and his boat capsized in the strong winds.  His life jacket is under the boat and thankfully he was able to get on top of the boat.  Now students must work together to retrieve his life jacket and put it on him, *without* touching anything with their hands!!

Surprisingly my students figured out how to get the "life saver" out from under the "boat" rather quickly.  It took a little longer for them to work together to get the "life saver" on Sam!

Overall, the students had a great time, worked together, and had some laughs along the way!  I will definitely keep this activity in my box of tricks for upcoming years!

Check back later this week for some more fun, back-to-school activities that we have done in our classroom!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this...

today marked my son's first day of 5th grade, my daughter's first day of 6th grade, and my first day of my 6th year in Eastern Carver County Schools!

I wrapped up the day with a yummy dinner at Unhinged Pizza with my two favorite kiddos!  

We were just missing my wife...

Mason - 5th Grade
Kylie - 6th Grade
2018-2019

What fun activities did you do for your first day/week back-to-school?